Nathan Hirayama (right) will be at the Commonwealth Games with the Canadian men’s rugby sevens team. Photograph By PAUL HARDING, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Desirae Ridenour and national team coach Juno Hall. Photograph By TIMES COLONIST

Joanna Brown of Canada(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

dinner celebrates leaders and partners

VICTORIA, B.C., September 29, 2018 - Athletes, coaches and sport administrators gathered at the Hotel Grand Pacific on Saturday for the annual Celebration of Sport dinner. Sport leaders Hugh MacDonald and Kelly Mann were recognized for their invaluable contributions to building the culture of sport in Victoria and the evening included presentations by Triathlon Canada ‘s CEO, Kim Van Bruggen and Paralympic pathway coach, Carolyn Murray.

High performance sport grant paves way to podium

VICTORIA, B. C., June 5, 2018 - Three National team athletes training with Athletic Canada’s Western Hub in Victoria, BC have received much needed financial support from 94Forward for their athletic pursuits. Laurence Cote (Baie-Comeau, Quebec), Rob Denault (Aurora, Ontario), and Samantha Murphy (Perth, Ontario) each received a Don Manning Grant for the 2018/2019 season.

Named after long time Board Chair, Don Manning, the grant assists eligible athletes further their training in Victoria, BC by covering costs associated with training and performance.

Athletes looking ahead to Commonwealth Games, just 3 weeks away

Cleve Dheensaw / Times Colonist MAY 13, 2018

More than 40 Island or Island-based athletes will be competing in the Commonwealth Games for Canada. Some of the Gold Coast-bound national team athletes based on the Island train here through legacy funding from the 1994 Victoria Commonwealth Games. That fund is known as 94 Forward and its current capital of more than $20 million is administered by a board chaired by former Oak Bay High and UBC Thunderbirds basketball star, and former B.C. deputy minister of finance, Chris Trumpy. Former national team rugby assistant coach John MacMillan is president of 94 Forward and former Camosun College vice-president and CFO Peter Lockie the treasurer. The directors are Robin Richardson, former national men’s team field hockey manager and currently director of the Bayview Place DC Bank Open PGA Tour Canada stop at Uplands, consultant and executive Robin Dyke, former B.C. Investment Management Corporation senior vice-president Lynn Hannah, and lawyer and 2008 Beijing Olympic gold-medallist rower Kyle Hamilton.

Canada's triathletes on a sprint for Tokyo gold

The Victoria-based Canadian triathlon team returned home from across the Pacific with a clear aim in mind: Gold the next time they go trans-Pacific.

"Our goal is to win the mixed relay at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020,” said head coach Jono Hall.

“It’s ambitious. But the relay is a priority for us and we have the athletes who are capable of doing that and putting it together on the day.”

Hall made his comments over the weekend at a Triathlon Canada event in which members of the wider sports community were invited to meet the national team at Saanich Commonwealth Place. The Canadian team athletes also unveiled their new racing kit for upcoming 2018 World Cup and World Series events.

94Forward investment pays early dividends

On Thursday, April 5, 2018, Joanna Brown won Canada's first medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, finishing third in the women's triathlon.

Brown originally, of Carp, Ont., relocated to Victoria last summer to work with coach Jono Hall at Triathlon Canada's National Performance Centre.

Canada's six member 2018 Commonwealth Games Triathlon team, included Brown, Desirae Ridenour, Dominika Jamnicky, Matt Sharpe, Tyler Mizlawchuk and Alexis Lapage. Four of the six member team currently train with the National Performance Centre.

“We all really enjoyed the evening and found talking with like-minded people was most enjoyable.” Dave Thompson, Head Women’s Coach, Rowing Canada.

Celebration of Sport

Nov 2017: Over 100 athletes, coaches and sport administrators representing dozens of sports, came together Saturday night to celebrate the unique culture of high performance sport in Victoria. Hosted by 94Forward, the evening was an opportunity to share cross sport experiences and inspire the next generation of runners training with Athletics Canada. Keynote speakers included Gary Reed, Canada's greatest 800-metre runner, and Julianne Zussman, 2014 Rugby World Cup silver medalist and current Western High Performance Hub Manger of Athletics Canada. Special guest and iconic sport builder Ken Shields, 94Foward’s first President (Canadian Centre for Sport Development 1994-1998), and current board members Chris Trumpy, Chair, and Peter Lockie, Secretary and Treasurer, were also in attendance.

Back in Business: Athletics once again a Middle Distance powerhouse in Victoria.

Victoria is the running capital of Canada and the Athletics Canada Middle Distance Western Hub is back in business.

The construction of the track and Centennial Stadium for the 1994 XV Commonwealth Games provided a world class facility from which to build programs. The launch of the Commonwealth Centre for Sport Development in 1995, later renamed PacificSport and now operating as 94Forward, led to the establishment of several National Training Centers in the region - a Middle Distance Centre was among the original group. Within five years, national and international talent emerged in both genders under the steady direction of Brent Fougner and Wynn Gmitroski. The Centre enjoyed ongoing success through to 2008 as Gary Reed continually cracked top 5 in the world. Over the next six years, despite continued results, the Centre wound down to a bare bones reality. In 2016 momentum to revive the Middle Distance National Training Centre led to its designation of ‘Hub’ - indicating support for permanent members and an openness to support athletes and their coaches visiting for training windows.

triathlon Canada's National Performance Centre (NPC)

The NPC in Victoria, BC, is an elite-level training facility for Canadian triathletes. It gives athletes access to facilities and sport science staff and presents opportunities for training alongside the nation’s best swimmers, rowers, cyclists and track and field athletes. It is located in the Victoria Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre and established in partnership with the Government of Canada, City of Victoria, 94 Forward, Canadian Sport Institute Pacific, Saanich Commonwealth Place and Pacific Institute of Sport Excellence.

ROWING CANADA 2016 PARAlympic TEAM

The Victoria-based Para Rowing Team competed in the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio De Janeiro. The LTAMixed4+ crew (shown left) of Curtis Halladay, Meghan Montgomery, Victoria Nolan, Andrew Todd and Kristen Kitrowed to a bronze medal - the first ever para-rowing medal for Canada.

PISE Running Track

PISE Main Entrance

PISE Track PROJECT

Completed in 2016, the PISE Track Project represents the next major step forward for this outstanding facility. With the addition of a running track that encircles the existing playing field, the PISE experience is further enhanced not just for high performance athletes, but for students and the whole community.

Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence (PISE)

We were a Founding Collaborator partnering with Camosun College and the Canadian Sport Institute. The PISE building and infrastructure opened in 2009 as an innovation hub, research facility and training centre for sport & physical performance.